Brothers
by FifiDoll
Summary: Things aren't going well in the Abrams household, and with it comes a revelation that Artie isn't an only child like he thought. Invited to his brother's wedding, Artie follows his dad to Pasadena, CA to meet Howard and his mom for the first time.


Things hadn't been going as well for Artie as he had hoped. Sure, New Directions had made it to nationals for the first time in years. They lost, but the fact was, they made it. He and Brittany were on good terms again, but they weren't dating. He wanted her back so badly, but he was pretty sure that Brittany was more worried about getting Santana to come out, at least to the Glee club. Being friends with Brittany was better than nothing at all, and she'd forgiven him for calling her stupid, but the fact was, she and Santana were back to being best friends, which left Artie with far less to do each day since she was busy.

Unfortunately that meant Artie very rarely went out to hang out with friends. Everyone else was busy with their own thing: Puck was cleaning pools again, Sam was delivering pizzas, Finn was helping out at Kurt's dad's tire shop, and Kurt was always gone with Blaine or working at the café down the street. The girls weren't exactly the best company for Artie, leaving very few options besides the little kids down the street. Mike seemed to be the only person Artie could hang out with, and even then, Mike's parents kept him on an extremely short leash. They were happy to have Artie over, though, which was nice during those times when his parents weren't getting along.

On top of everything else, things were falling apart in the Abrams household. For the past few weeks, his parents had been arguing back and forth. His mom would shout things about the past and how it should be forgotten and never brought up, and his dad would shout something about the truth. Whatever was going on, Artie didn't even want to know. Chances were that it would make life suck even more, and he didn't need that. Usually he'd pull out his guitar and rock out to drown out their shouting. Most of the time it worked, and when it didn't, well…that's when he'd disappear to Mike's house.

This particular night, things were getting out of hand. "I can't believe you're thinking about this!" his mom shouted.

Artie wheeled across his room, as far away from the door and his parents as he possibly could. It was getting annoying, this shouting every night. "I can't just ignore him, Julie," his father argued, desperation in his voice. "It's been seventeen years since I saw him last. I owe this to him."

Wait…what? Artie froze and listened, now straining his ears so he could catch every last word. This was something he'd never heard before. "That's exactly why you shouldn't go, Todd," Mrs. Abrams shouted, exhaustion in her voice.

"He's my _son_," Mr. Abrams argued. "I owe this to him."

"No you don't. You swore when we started dating that you left that part of your life behind you!"

Artie had never heard his mother this upset, and he had absolutely no idea what his parents were talking about. "I can't just ignore him like that!" Mr. Abrams shouted.

As much as Artie wanted to know what was going on, he was getting a headache and he was tired of the shouting. It always stressed him out, and he wasn't even a part of the conversation. He sent a quick text message and waited for a reply, strumming absentmindedly on his guitar in hopes of drowning out the shouts from downstairs.

It was all so confusing; Artie was an only child, and he hadn't been ignored, at least not really. Sure, he was hiding from his parents ever since they started fighting, but that was _his fault_. His father wasn't deliberately skirting around conversation or spending time away from home – it made no sense. The stress of it all was more than Artie wanted to handle, though, and he wheeled out of his room and through the back door before anybody even realized he was gone. Mike had gotten used to the routine of lifting Artie into the passenger's seat and folding his wheelchair up to stash in the back seat. "You okay, man?" Mike asked softly as they drove away from Artie's house.

Artie shrugged nonchalantly. Truth be told, he _wasn't_ okay, but it was hard to put everything into words. "I guess so," he lied.

Mike watched Artie from the corner of his eye as they drove the small distance to Mike's house. When they arrived, Artie received warm welcomes from Mr. and Mrs. Chang before they went down the hall to the entertainment room. The guys never usually spent time in Mike's room, mainly because it was upstairs, and that was a little inconvenient with the chair. Mike pulled out the xbox system and they played Halo until their fingertips were flat.

Artie felt better after the marathon of gaming they had – killing imaginary monsters really did something for a person's anger issues. Now that the game was over, though, his thoughts had flown right back to his parents. He just didn't understand what they kept fighting about. "Do you want to talk about it?" Mike pressed gently.

With a sigh, Artie nodded. Mike was insanely patient when it came to Artie's problems; they'd play video games, sometimes they'd sing or dance (Mike was really getting pretty good at singing), but Mike would never push too much. He'd wait until Artie had let off some steam before asking what was wrong, and even then, he'd back off if Artie said he didn't want to talk about it. This time, though, he spoke. "It's just my parents," he shrugged it off like it was nothing.

Mike knew it wasn't, though. He'd seen the sad, almost tragic look on Artie's face when he got there to pick him up – something about the fight he'd just heard had been different. "They were fighting again, but that's no surprise," Artie rolled his eyes.

"What was different?" Mike asked, sensing something else was wrong.

He really was curious; Artie was having a rough time and if there was anything Mike could do to help, he'd be all over it. Over the past few months, Artie had become one of Mike's best friends, the fact that he was Tina's ex-boyfriend long forgotten. "They were shouting about me, I think. But it didn't make sense. Mom just kept shouting at dad about 'his son' and something about the past," Artie shook his head. None of it made sense, and it was almost as though he thought shaking his head would make the pieces fall into place. "Dad said he 'owed this to him,' whoever he was talking about. I guess me, because who else would it be?"

"Man, that sucks, Artie," Mike shook his head.

He was always there to listen to Artie but he felt lame as soon as he opened his mouth. Life seemed so simple and easy for Mike in comparison, and he never knew what to say. He wanted to be comforting, he _really_ did, it was just – he didn't know what to _say_. "Yeah well, I just hope it ends soon," Artie shrugged.

Mike's voice made it obvious to Artie that he wasn't sure what to say. He appreciated that Mike would listen though – at least _somebody_ would. Ever since Brittany had broken up with Artie, he'd felt kind of lonely. Having Mike as a friend was consolation enough. "I should get home," Artie sighed.

Mike wanted to hear more, if only just to help Artie, but whenever Artie said it was time to go home, it meant the conversation was over. Instead of pressing the matter, he just nodded and they went out to the car.

As soon as Artie rolled back inside his own house, he could tell something was wrong. His stomach sank as he wheeled into the living room. His father sat on the sofa, leafing through an old photo book with a wistful, sad look on his face. It broke Artie's heart to see his father so upset, and he longed to make sure his mother wasn't feeling the same way. "Where's mom?" he asked, putting on a look of optimism if only to make his father happier for a split second.

Instead, Mr. Abrams's face was nothing but sorrow. He struggled to find the words as Artie wheeled closer. "Artie…she left," he said slowly.

Artie's faint trace of a smile completely disappeared at those words. His mind raced as he tried to comprehend the words his father had just said. It couldn't be true – his mom and dad been together for seventeen years at least! All of Artie's life they'd been happy. Until now, that is, and he needed to know why. "But…dad, why?" Artie asked, his voice soft and thick with emotion.

Mr. Abrams couldn't bring himself to speak, though. Artie wheeled closer, close enough that the toe of his shoe could tap against his father's leg to get his attention. Softly, Artie asked, "Is this because of what you guys were arguing about earlier?"

With a heavy sigh, Mr. Abrams nodded. Artie frowned and said, "I'm sorry I messed this up for you."

"No," Mr. Abrams said instantly, looking up at Artie, alarmed. "You didn't! Artie, this has _nothing_ to do with you."

"Then who were you guys arguing about? I'm the _only _person you guys could have been talking about," Artie shot defensively.

He didn't need to be lied to on top of everything else. It would hurt much more than everything already did, and Artie was sick and tired of deception. Tina had lied about her stutter, Brittany had lied about what she was doing with Santana (at least at first), and now this? It was getting to be too much and it just needed to _stop_. "Artie…come here," his dad said sadly, pulling out the worn photo album once more.

Against his better judgment, Artie wheeled to where his father was seated on the sofa and stared over at the photo his father was currently putting on display. A small boy, no more than a year old, sat in a high chair with cake smeared all over his face and hands. "Yeah, so, that's me," Artie shrugged. "I don't get it."

Without a word, Mr. Abrams pointed to the date in the corner, and then Artie _really_ became confused. The photo was taken before he was born…eleven years before he was born, to be exact. But the baby boy looked _just_ like Artie had at that age. "Who is that?" Artie asked, his voice soft and swimming with confusion.

"Artie…that's your brother," Mr. Abrams sighed sadly.

It didn't make sense. How could Artie have a brother? Had he died? Where was he and why in the world had he never been mentioned until now? It was all so confusing Artie's head was starting to ache. He just couldn't wrap his head around everything. His father must have noticed, too, because he continued without a single question to prompt him. "His name is Howard and he lives in California with your birth mom," he said gently.

Artie's eyes snapped up to meet his father's. He'd known that Julie wasn't his birth mom, but that's about the extent of it. When Artie was born, his father divorced his mother (she was crazy, apparently) and left her behind in California. He moved to Ohio and two years later was married to Julie, the woman Artie had grown up calling mom. He was fine with the situation – hell, he called Julie _mom_, not his step-mom or anything like that. What he _wasn't_ okay with was the fact that his older brother had apparently been completely left out of everything. "Artie, I didn't know he'd ever try to get in contact with me again," Mr. Abrams pleaded. "I just…I'm sorry."

"How old is he now, then? And why is he talking to you all of a sudden?" Artie asked. "And what in the world was so wrong about it to make mom leave!"

He was _really_ trying to contain himself, but it was so difficult when there were so many questions running through his brain. "He's twenty-nine, and he's getting married. He invited me," Mr. Abrams said. "Your mom can be overprotective sometimes, and she really didn't like your birth mom."

Artie frowned. He'd known _that_ too. It still didn't make sense. "Why didn't you tell me about…what's his name again?" Artie asked.

"Howard," Mr. Abrams sighed. "Your mom didn't really want me to tell you about him, and I thought maybe it was better. I moved to Ohio to make a fresh start. Your birth mom and Howard…well, she was very overprotective of him, and you know she and I didn't see eye to eye."

They fought over religion _all the time_. She was Jewish, and very devout. So much so that when she and Artie's dad divorced, she took back her maiden name to reaffirm just how Jewish she really was. "So…are you going?" Artie asked.

He needed to know. Was this whole past going to be revisited? Or more importantly – would he even be a _part _of the whole mess if it was? "I'd like to. I'm not going to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, though, Artie. I want you to know that," Mr. Abrams insisted earnestly, his eyes meeting Artie's.

Their eyes locked and Mr. Abrams could see the internal struggle his son was having. Artie's mind was racing with questions and possibilities and thousands of ways that this whole mess could get worse. "I…would I get to meet them if you did?" Artie asked hesitantly.

Mr. Abrams was surprised, but he nodded. If Artie was curious about the rest of his birth family, who was he to say no? "If you'd like to, sure," Mr. Abrams nodded.

The determination on Artie's face was the only indication he needed. Artie wanted to meet his birth mom and his older brother, and that was admirable. For Artie, the thought was terrifying.

Rolling out of the airplane and into the wide open space of the airport was both relieving and nerve-wracking for Artie. He followed his father through the building in search of his brother, not even sure what he looked like or where he'd be. Artie's eyes darted around the airport time and time again, wondering just what lay ahead of him. He was meeting his birth family for the first time; the thought had crossed his mind more than once about whether they knew he was in a wheelchair and if they'd treat him differently because of it. The anxiety had plagued him the entire plane ride from Ohio to California.

There, by the front doors of the airport, stood two people, both short and nervous looking. One glance and Artie knew instantly that it was them: his older brother and future sister-in-law. His older brother – Howard, Artie had to remember – was wringing his hands in front of him, his red pants tighter than Kurt's (and Artie didn't even know that was possible). His red and yellow plaid button down shirt and red turtleneck were tight against his upper body and tucked into his jeans, revealing a Pac Man belt buckle. That certainly wasn't the appearance Artie was expecting, but it was fitting for an engineer named Howard.

The woman next to him had beautiful blonde curls and glasses and she stood in her blue sundress, looking around the airport anxiously. She spotted Artie and his father and burst into a smile, tapping Howard's shoulder and pointing towards them. Howard looked shocked as his eyes fell upon them and he watched them close the final few feet. "Dad?" Howard asked hopefully.

His fiancée reached over and squeezed his hand, sensing how emotional Howard was getting. "Howard," Mr. Abrams said, a sad but ecstatic smile on his face.

He reached forward and enveloped Howard in a tight hug, the short man's face falling against Mr. Abrams's shoulder. Artie sat behind them, watching awkwardly, waiting for the right moment to make his presence known. He didn't have to wait long, though; when his father stepped away from the hug, he gestured to Artie and said, "This is your kid brother, Artie."

Howard smiled nervously and reached out his hand to shake Artie's. "Hi," he said, looking down at Artie in awe.

"Hey," Artie smiled, hoping to put Howard at ease.

He'd never seen anyone so nervous; not since Brittany's freak out before Regionals at least. It took them a moment to get used to the fact that the other existed. Slowly their hands separated and the blonde woman stepped forward, clearing her throat. She adjusted her wire-rimmed glasses and said in her high-pitched voice, "It's so great that you two could fly out for the wedding."

She smiled at them as Howard collected himself and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Dad, Artie, this is my fiancée, Bernadette," he introduced her.

"Pleasure to meet you, Bernadette," Mr. Abrams said, shaking her hand.

Artie extended his hand as well and said hello. Other than that, he wasn't quite sure what to say. It was all so strange and awkward, having a brother all of a sudden. Now he knew what Finn and Kurt had meant when they said it was an unfamiliar feeling to have a brother after a lifetime of _not_ having one. They walked out to the car where Mr. Abrams helped Artie into the backseat, his wheelchair squished in the trunk. Bernadette took the driver's seat of the Camry, Howard in the passenger's seat. He began speaking almost as soon as they pulled out of the parking lot. "So, we're going to my friend Leonard and Sheldon's place first," he explained, his nerves gone and replaced with excitement. "They're on the fourth floor, so we'll have to carry you up, Artie, but it'll be fine. You guys will get to meet all my friends at once."

All of his friends? To Artie, that sounded like far too many people to be meeting in one night. He was already overwhelmed at meeting _two_ people, never mind everyone else Howard knew. "Mom won't be there, but she'll be at the wedding tomorrow if you're okay with waiting to see her until then?" he asked Artie.

"Yeah, that's fine," Artie insisted.

Meeting his brother had been enough of an emotional trip, meeting his mother on the same day would probably be too much to handle. It felt strange knowing there was someone else out there with the same parents as Artie, but so far away. The minute he saw Howard it was obvious that they were brothers; it felt weird calling someone he'd must met a brother though.

Artie sighed and sat back as Howard raved about Bernadette. She had just gotten her doctorate in microbiology and had recently started working for a very prestigious pharmaceutical company. He himself was an engineer, but as Bernadette pointed out, he wasn't a doctor. "Well, that's okay, Howard," Mr. Abrams said, clapping Howard on the shoulder from his seat behind him. "Being an engineer is impressive as it is. Don't worry about burdening yourself with more if you don't need to."

"All of our friends are doctors," Bernadette pointed out with a smile.

"Except Penny!" Howard piped up defensively. "Penny is definitely not a doctor!"

Bernadette conceded the point as Artie tried to catch up with the conversation. "Wait, so your friends are all really smart?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Howard nodded proudly, turning to face Artie. "Sheldon is a theoretical physicist, Leonard is in experimental physics, Amy is a neurobiologist, and Raj is an astrophysicist. Do you have an interest in science?"

"I like technical stuff," Artie shrugged. "I haven't really given much thought to college yet, though. I was so caught up with glee club this year that I didn't go tour anywhere."

"You're in glee club?" Bernadette asked.

Artie nodded and said, "We just placed twelfth in the nation in New York a few weeks ago."

"Wait, wait, screw glee club – you said you haven't looked at schools yet?" Howard interrupted, waving his hand to break the conversation. "Like, at all?"

"Nope," Artie shrugged. "I want to do something with technical aspects. Maybe film. I'm also in the AV club, so I'm pretty into that. I like music though too, so I don't know what I want to do."

Howard looked impressed and asked, "You sing?"

"I also play guitar," Artie nodded.

"Wow, it sounds like you keep busy in high school," Bernadette said with a smile.

"Yeah," Artie agreed.

He turned to his father, who chimed in, "I'm quite proud of Artie here. I can't wait for him to get out of that school, though."

"Why?" Bernadette asked.

"The bullying," Mr. Abrams said simply.

"Dad," Artie groaned, rolling his eyes.

His father liked to complain about the bullying at McKinley High. Ever since Artie had been in the chair, he'd been picked on more than usual. Before the chair, it was the usual jibe at his hair or glasses, but after that things got worse. For a few years, Artie had no friends at all. It wasn't until he joined the AV club his freshman year of high school that he'd been truly happy. Adding glee club to the mix was all it had taken for the bullies to start making rude comments again, and by the beginning of Artie's junior year, he'd been slushied just like everyone else. Mr. Abrams was appalled at the situation, especially when so little had been done to get rid of it, even after Kurt Hummel had returned after his brief escape to Dalton Academy. "Don't 'dad' me," Artie's dad admonished. "You get picked on too much for it to be normal. McKinley has a terrible anti-bullying policy and you know it."

Artie agreed, but there was really nothing he could do about it. "We'll have to share horror stories later, then," Howard said to Artie. "Me and the guys have a ton of them. Especially Sheldon – he went to college when he was fourteen so he had it worst out of all of us."

Mr. Abrams said nothing, but Artie was relieved at how cavalier Howard had sounded about it all. From what he'd been told, Artie had in his mind that his father was one of the popular guys at school. The idea of bullying being a normal thing for some people hadn't even crossed his mind, so he didn't really "get it." Howard, it seemed, really _did_ understand. Artie liked him already.

They pulled up outside an apartment building and slowly made their way upstairs, Artie's dad carrying him the four flights up to apartment 4A. Howard walked through the door, not even bothering to knock. Before entering all the way, he announced, "Everyone, I'd like to introduce my dad and long lost brother."

He stepped to the side to let Artie (who was now situated comfortably in his wheelchair) and his father make their way into the room. "Hey guys," a tall blonde woman with a bright smile greeted them.

"Hi," Mr. Abrams nodded, Artie waving shyly at his side.

"I'm Penny," she introduced herself. "I live across the hall."

"Yes, this is Penny," Howard took over, pointing to various people in the room.

He then began introducing every single one of his friends, which as Artie came to find out, wasn't many. It was like he and his brother had little things like that in common that they didn't even know about – that miles apart had no effect on. Artie only had a few people he could call close friends as well.

There was a short awkward man with glasses that Howard pointed out as Leonard. He seemed to be the leader of the pack, and while he was standing next to an Indian woman, he looked to only have eyes for Penny. Artie made a mental note to ask Howard about that later. The Indian woman next to Leonard had a name that sounded like a Toyota car, but he couldn't remember it, even right after Howard and she corrected him. He'd have to ask Howard about that, too.

The tall lanky man in the corner was Sheldon, and he was typing furiously at his computer, saying something about a provisional agreement for visitors in wheelchairs, whatever that meant. As Howard babbled on about Sheldon's strange habits, Penny just leaned over and clarified, "He's bat crap crazy."

Artie laughed and nodded. He'd picked up on the crazy right away, and wondered what a control freak like Rachel would do when presented with someone as strange as Sheldon. It would be an interesting combination for sure. The woman next to Sheldon was just as neurotic, and as Artie learned, her name was Amy. Penny defended her crazy, though, and that seemed a little strange.

After Howard had introduced his friends and Artie had heard more names than he was going to remember, they sat down for Chinese food and chatted; mostly Sheldon ranted about the strange stories behind the "something borrowed, something blue" poem that Penny had brought up (and instantly regretted). Artie was amused by Howard's group of friends, and surprised at how happy these people were considering how much Howard said they were all picked on. After dinner, people dispersed into conversations, Artie's dad striking up a talk with Bernadette about her research and all that.

"So, Artie," Howard said, turning to include the young boy. "You say you get picked on a lot at your school?"

"Yeah," Artie sighed, nodding. "I mean, between being in a wheelchair, being in the AV club, and being in Glee club, I'm pretty much marked for it."

The one with glasses – Leonard, was it? spoke up and said, "Things improve a little bit when you get to college. Then you have different departmental buildings so all the cool business majors are on the opposite side of campus. There are less swirlies that way."

"Now, that's not entirely correct," Sheldon pointed out. "I was always in the math and sciences building and the pre-Med guys always found a way to get into the physics department and make up for concrete boundaries."

Leonard rolled his eyes and said, "He was easy to spot. He was a fourteen year old on a college campus."

"Yeah, it'll get better in college," Howard agreed. "Don't listen to Sheldon. Just…don't go hitting on the microbiology students. The jokes don't work."

Artie wasn't quite sure which jokes Howard was referring to, but he had more of a question of how he'd met Bernadette then. "If you're not supposed to do that, then how did you meet Bernadette?" he asked curiously.

"Penny set us up," Howard explained. "See, Leonard and I made a pact a long time ago that if he ever got a hot girlfriend, that girlfriend would set the other up with one of their friends. Well, at the time, Leonard was dating Penny, so he had to ask Penny to play matchmaker basically. Penny and Bernadette used to work together at The Cheesecake Factory, and after that first date, it was love…"

Howard's eyes got all distant as he thought back on the memories, and Artie wasn't sure if he should be disgusted or happy for him. "The date started really awkwardly," Leonard chimed in, breaking Howard's dreamy gaze and turning it into a glare. "It was taking forever. They didn't find something to talk about until almost _dessert_."

"How was I supposed to know what she liked and didn't like? Penny only gave me her _first_ name; it was impossible to find her on Facebook," Howard rolled his eyes.

With a shrug, Artie said, "At least you got her in the end though, right?"

His voice was wistful and a frown crossed his features. "What's the matter?" Howard asked, noticing Artie's strange change of mood.

"I'm fine," Artie insisted. "It's just…this girl is all."

"Girl problems," Leonard nodded, Raj showing agreement at his side. "We've all had them. What's going on?"

"Yeah, tell us about her," Howard pressed, leaning forward with interest.

Sheldon turned around and resumed conversation with Amy, not even bothering to hide his disinterest in what Artie had to say. Artie chalked it up to him being, as Penny put it, "bat crap crazy," and moved on. "Her name is Brittany. She's the prettiest girl I've ever met, but she's not the smartest," Artie explained. "She understands the most random things, but at times, her common sense is lacking. She's not stupid though – not at all. I called her that once, and that's kind of what ended it all. She's just so perfect, though. I never thought I'd date a girl like her."

"A girl like her?" Leonard asked.

"Pretty, popular, she was a cheerleader when we started dating…" Artie trailed off. "She's so perfect, and I don't deserve her, and I think that's why we're not together anymore. Well, that, and Santana."

"Well, there's your first problem," Leonard pointed out. "I learned the hard way that the nerds _never_ get the pretty girl. They're too perfect, and they know it. All you have to do is point out a few flaws and _BAM!_ It's over."

Raj nodded at his side, a frown on his face like he also knew from experience. "Who's Santana?" Howard asked, changing the subject.

"She's in love with Brittany," Artie said sadly, "They've been fooling around forever, and I thought it stopped when Brittany and I were dating, but it didn't, I guess. Santana's really manipulative and she'll stop at nothing to get what she wants."

"Wait, your girlfriend left you for another girl?" Howard clarified, shocked.

Artie nodded, frowning. "I mean, I guess I always knew it was going to happen, because they're both very good looking girls and I'm…well…in a wheelchair, but it still hurts," he admitted. "It probably always will."

"That's harsh," Leonard winced. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Artie."

"Yeah," Howard nodded. His expression changed from somber to excited as he burst, "Hey! All you have to do is make a pact with one of your friends the same way Leonard and I did, and maybe it will work out for you like it did for me!"

He smiled as Artie mulled the idea over in his head. "Just make sure it's someone you'd do the same thing for if you needed to," Leonard spoke up. "Penny didn't take it well at first because Howard is well…Howard."

"I am a romantic," Howard rolled his eyes, his voice on edge and defensive.

Raj looked disgusted and shook his head adamantly. Artie laughed a little at their banter and asked, "So, you guys really had it bad in high school?"

"I swear it was worse for us than for you," Howard waved it off. "Swirlies, wedgies, the whole shebang."

"Yeah, but what about patriotic wedgies? And slushies?" Artie challenged, a smile crossing his features at the thought of one-upping the guys on their high school torture.

"Slushies?" Leonard asked, confused.

Artie nodded and said, "Yeah. The jocks at school will get a slushie and just toss it in your face. It's like getting bitch slapped by an iceberg. One is bad enough, but my first slushie attack I got fourteen at once. It was horrible."

The guys looked absolutely horrified at the thought. "Yeah…you kind of _do_ have it bad," Howard admitted. "I'm sorry you have to deal with that."

"We all do," Artie shrugged casually, like the thought of getting a slushie facial didn't even faze him anymore. "It's just part of being in the glee club."

"Why do you stay in it then?" Leonard asked.

"My friends are in it," Artie explained. "We're always there for each other, even if we hate each other sometimes. Like Santana, I can't stand her, but we're all there for her because coming out at our school is hard. The only people that know she's a lesbian are the people in the club, and we'll do whatever we can to protect her from the jerks at our school. Same with Kurt; he gets picked on for being gay all the time. And we watched out for Quinn when she was pregnant and people weren't nice to her. We're just kind of a family."

"See, there's where you're lucky," Leonard pointed out. "You've got people to watch out for you. We never did. I had no friends until college, and even then, my friends were other physics majors."

"Yeah, my best friend throughout high school was my mom," Howard added, embarrassed. "I didn't make friends until college either."

Raj just nodded next to them, agreeing with everything they said. His eyes darted around the room and landed on the women seated around them. "So um…why can't you talk?" Artie asked him.

Raj furrowed his brow and leaned over to whisper to Howard. "Yeah, he can't speak in front of women," Howard explained. "Unless he's drunk, that is. Then he's a perverted motor-mouth who scares away all the women he can finally talk to."

Artie laughed at that and said, "It's better than nothing I guess."

Mr. Abrams was the first to leave, bringing Artie with him as Howard followed in their wake, down to Bernadette's car to take them to the hotel. They were staying in the same hotel that the wedding would be in, which was convenient for Artie.

Morning came much too soon, and Artie found himself all dressed up in a tuxedo, on his way to the main floor where they'd be picked up by Leonard and Sheldon. The ceremony was in a park to accommodate both families, and whatever they were doing to make their religions work together, Artie had no idea. He'd only been told that Bernadette was Catholic and that Howard was Jewish. By extension, Artie supposed that meant _he _was Jewish as well, but he liked his father's philosophy of "believe what you want to believe." It made life a lot easier, in his opinion.

During the ceremony, Artie kept craning his neck around the crowd, searching for his mother, but never spotted her. He almost wondered if she'd just forgotten to show up, but that didn't make sense. Leonard made it sound like Howard had been spoiled rotten by his mother his entire life.

Hearing this made Artie mad for some reason. He'd never understood how she could just…let him go with his father. Hadn't she been upset about it? Why was he so easy to give up? Then come to find out she'd been spoiling Howard at the same time? It was like he wasn't good enough or something, and it was upsetting. He wanted to ask his dad about it, but he just seemed so happy, Artie couldn't ruin his day like that.

As everyone was saying goodbye at the end of the ceremony, Howard pulled Artie to the side. "So, Artie, are we still on for the reception?" he asked anxiously, looking around.

Bernadette was still out of earshot, thankfully. Artie whispered in reply, "Of course. Does the band know?"

"Yeah, I slipped them the song this morning," Howard nodded. His eyes darted around one last time before he said, "Thanks again, Artie. This is going to be great."

"No problem," Artie smiled reassuringly. "Now go find your bride."

Howard spotted her across the park, laughing and joking with Penny and Leonard and he smiled. With a sigh, he asked, "Isn't she beautiful?"

"Definitely," Artie nodded. "Go get her. Dad and I will see you at the hotel later."

Beaming, Howard clapped Artie on the shoulder and made his way across the grass as Mr. Abrams approached his son. "What was that about?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing," Artie replied with a smile.

Inside he was frustrated, though. He couldn't stop wondering why his mother was avoiding him. What if she didn't want to meet him? What if she was disgusted by the fact that he was in a wheelchair? His brain wouldn't stop thinking of all the horrible possibilities the entire drive.

Once back to the hotel, Artie and his dad went upstairs to get their gift for Howard and Bernadette. "Dad?" Artie asked.

"Yeah?" his father replied as he rummaged around the room for the card they needed to attach to the gift.

"Was mom at the wedding?" he questioned, desperately hoping that the answer was no so he didn't feel so abandoned. "I didn't see her."

"No, she wasn't there," Mr. Abrams replied awkwardly. "She uh…she'll be at the reception though. It's just one of those things…she doesn't like going certain places."

His dad's tone didn't sit right with Artie. He was hiding something, and it was hurtful. All Artie wanted was the truth; after everything he'd gone through the past few days, he deserved to just be told the truth. And right away, for once, not after he begged and pleaded for it. "Will I get to meet her, then? Or is that another one of 'those things?'" Artie mocked.

He was fed up with the lies and deception and was going to get the truth no matter what it took. Even if he sounded like a petulant child, at least it was getting him _somewhere_ with his father. Mr. Abrams spun around and looked at his son angrily. "Artie, you know it's not like that."

"No, I don't," Artie shrugged. "I don't know anything about her. Nobody is telling me anything and I'm sick of it. I came here to meet my mom and it hasn't happened yet. We're leaving for Ohio in the morning, dad." He sighed and finished desperately, "I'm running out of time."

"After the dinner, we'll go find her and you can meet her," Mr. Abrams told him sympathetically. He patted Artie's shoulder and said, "I promise you'll have plenty of time with her."

Artie glared at his father disbelievingly, but didn't say another word. He just nodded and signed the congratulations card they'd bought to go with their gift of fancy sheets that they'd put on their registry. After gathering up the gift, they rode the elevator down to the main floor where they were directed to the reception. Howard and Bernadette stood at the doorway greeting people. "Hey," Howard beamed at them both.

"Hi guys," Bernadette added, smiling just as brightly at his side. "Enjoy the reception, grab some soda or something. We'll have dinner soon."

"Thanks, Bernadette," Mr. Abrams said with a nod.

Howard winked at Artie and they shared a knowing smile before Artie and his dad made their way into the room. "What was that all about?" his dad asked, eyeing Artie curiously as they searched for their place cards.

"Oh, nothing," Artie shrugged. "Nothing you need to worry about."

Mr. Abrams looked skeptical and a little worried, but he kept to himself. They found their table and took a seat. Penny, Amy, Leonard, and Sheldon were seated at the same table as them and Artie sat awkwardly as his father went to get them soda. "So, Artie, any plans for after graduation?" Leonard asked, taking a seat next to him.

Artie shrugged and said, "Not really. I mean, I want to go to college, but I don't know where. Very few college campuses have wheelchair accessible dorms."

"Cal tech has some," Leonard offered. "I don't know about any other schools or what you wanted to do, though. I'm sure if you look around enough you'll find somewhere."

"Yeah, I'm sure some not so smart places have them, too," Penny offered, winking at Leonard as she said it. "I'll see if any of my friends know of some good schools."

Artie looked extremely grateful and said, "Thanks. I guess I just get tired of looking all the time. Half the schools I've looked at give you like, no options for handicapped living."

"Actually, I find that statement to be inaccurate. Many schools…" Sheldon began.

"Can it, Shelly," Penny shot instantly.

Sheldon pursed his lips and looked surprised at the outburst. He didn't say another word, and Artie was grateful; the last thing he needed was for someone to pick apart everything he said. He had been on edge all night, anxiously awaiting the moment when he met his mother. His father returned with drinks and they sat, sipping their sodas, Artie looking around anxiously for his mom.

Sheldon and Amy bantered on about her latest neurobiological study involving monkeys that smoke cigarettes while Leonard and Penny chatted, Penny throwing strange comments about Prius? Priya? Whatever the Indian girl's name was. Artie sensed a strange jealousy there and tried not to let it remind him of Brittany.

"There she is," Mr. Abrams leaned over and whispered to Artie, glancing towards the door.

A large, short woman had Howard wrapped up in her arms. For a fleeting moment, Artie wondered how his father ever dated a woman that looked like that, considering how beautiful he thought his step-mom Julie was. Her gray hair was ratted and back in a loose bun. She wore glasses that were perched precariously on the end of her large, obviously Jewish nose. Her back was hunched slightly as she let go of Howard and shuffled slowly into the room.

She certainly didn't look like Artie was expecting her too, but she was his mother, and he was rendered speechless just at the sight of her. "That's…that's her?" he asked disbelievingly.

He couldn't believe he was meeting his mother. She was walking towards him. _Shit_. She was talking towards him. He was going to talk to his mother. He didn't think he could do it.

Apparently she hadn't even noticed Artie, though. Instead she just stopped in front of Mr. Abrams and said, "Well looky here. Someone decided to show up again, huh?"

She had an eyebrow raised and she looked irritated. The sarcasm dripped from her rough, screeching voice. "Howard invited me, so here I am," he shrugged.

She sat down in the chair next to Artie's father and he just stared at her in awe. He almost didn't notice when Penny reached over and squeezed his hand, hoping to calm his nerves. "Didya bring Artie?" she asked, her eyes darting around the room before landing on him.

Her accent was vaguely Bostonian and was a strange contrast to the rest of the people around him. He just stared at her as she looked him over for a moment and said, "I'm Rhoda Wolowitz. I'm your mother."

Artie gulped and nodded. "Artie Abrams," he nodded.

He must have looked terrified, because her expression actually softened a little bit. Artie wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to say to her, and she wasn't saying anything in return. Mrs. Wolowitz's expression was hard to read as she looked him over. It made him uncomfortable, and she almost looked disgusted.

Before Artie had a chance to say anything, Howard was ushering his mother away to a table at the front where she'd be sitting near him. "Well, that was interesting…" Penny said, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Actually, I didn't find anything about that interesting at all," Sheldon spoke up. "Mrs. Wolowitz introduced herself to her son and he introduced himself in return. It was a simple exchange of names, therefore nothing to be amused by. But then again, I suppose in comparison with your day to day activities, Penny, perhaps I have spoken too soon."

Penny didn't even have time to fix a harsh glare on Sheldon before Artie was wheeling out of the room, hiding his face in embarrassment. Mr. Abrams made a move to follow him, but Howard began speaking, thanking everyone for coming, and he didn't have the heart to walk out while his son was speaking.

Back in the bathroom, Artie was seething. He'd locked himself in the handicap stall and tried to forget the look of…disappointment almost, on his mother's face. Was he that horrible to look at? The wheelchair didn't even get him looks like that at school, and the kids at school were just plain unforgiving.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number, waiting for the ringing to end and that familiar voice to appear. "Hey Artie, how's it going?" Mike answered his phone cheerfully. "I thought you had a wedding to go to?"

"I did," Artie admitted woefully. "I mean, that's where I am. But – I can't do this."

"Do what?" Mike asked.

Mike was quickly learning that he preferred helping Artie through his problems over the phone. He seemed to know what to say a lot easier now that he didn't have Artie's sad eyes fixed on him desperately. "I met Howard and he's cool and all, but…my mom," he said, frowning. "I don't think she likes me, and I can't be here."

"Wait," Mike cut him off. "Why do you think she doesn't like you?"

"My chair? She doesn't know me?" he listed off. "It could be anything. But…but when she looked at me she just looked so angry and disgusted and it sucked. It was worse than school."

It was hard for Mike to believe that something could be worse than what they dealt with at school, but Artie sounded upset so he bit his tongue. Instead he asked, "So what are you going to do?"

"Well, I could go up to the hotel room but I promised Howard I wouldn't. Not until later, at least," Artie said sadly. "Like, he and I planned a surprise for Bernadette. But…I just don't want to stay. Not if mom is going to look at me like that."

"Go for Howard," Mike insisted bravely, hoping Artie wouldn't get angry at him for suggesting it. "Do what you guys planned, then cut. And avoid her. Weddings are usually huge, just stay with your dad or make sure there's always food around so you can eat or something. If your mouth is full then you don't have to talk to her."

Artie sighed. It made sense, kind of. He'd have to go back out there eventually anyway. "Yeah, you're right," he admitted sadly. "I'll go. I just…I hate that she hates me. We didn't even talk! She just took one look at me and that was it."

"I'm sorry, man," Mike replied sympathetically. "Let me know how it goes, okay? We'll hang out when you get back."

"Sounds good," Artie nodded. "I'll see you later."

"Yep, later."

Artie hung up the phone and left the stall, just to find himself face to face with Howard. "Hey," Howard said awkwardly. "I uh…I kind of heard your conversation. I think we should talk."

The last thing Artie wanted to do was talk, especially when now even _Howard_ seemed so awkward around him, but he nodded and followed anyway. They went out into the hotel lobby and Howard said, "There are some things you should know about mom."

Artie sighed and listened. He doubted anyone could convince him that it was all okay, and that it wasn't what he thought, but that all seemed so unlikely in the grand scheme of things. Artie's birth mom had looked disgusted at the sight of him, and that was that.

"Mom…she's not like other people. She's got this anxiety disorder that kind of affects her personality sometimes…" Howard began slowly. "She's not crazy or anything like that, at least not clinically," he rolled his eyes. "But…she's afraid to leave the house. She doesn't like going anywhere that's unfamiliar or uncomfortable. She feels awkward and sometimes has panic attacks if it gets too rowdy."

"What does that have to do with me?" Artie asked, hurt. "She looked so grossed out by me just because of my chair. I can't even help it."

"She's not used to this place," Howard said, frowning. "It's really uncomfortable for her to be here, but she came for me. Usually she's really chatty. It's actually really hard to shut her up. Bernadette gave her a glass of champagne so that should help, but it'll be a while until she really can just be herself. She doesn't hate you."

Artie just glared at Howard; he obviously didn't believe him. "The chair scares everyone away," he said simply. "I don't know why I was surprised."

"Just…wait until she gets used to this hotel. Give her until we're done with Bernadette's surprise. If she's not okay then, I won't be mad if you leave," Howard said. "Just…_please_ stay for our surprise."

With a nod, Artie gave a lopsided smile and said, "Yeah, I'll stay for that."

"Cool, thank you," Howard said, a relieved smile crossing his features. "Dinner is still going if you wanted to eat something."

Artie followed Howard out of the bathroom and into the reception where Artie wheeled up to the table and ate the food his father had gotten for him. Every time someone tried to ask him if he was okay or if he wanted to talk, Artie would just pretend he didn't hear them or he'd take a bite of food. It didn't take long for them to get the hint.

Bernadette and Howard cut the cake and everyone enjoyed dessert, Mr. Abrams anxiously waiting for the eating to be over so he could introduce Artie to his mother properly. The earlier instance had been awkward and not the way he'd imagined it at all. He felt bad for how poorly Mrs. Wolowitz had reacted and really wanted to make it up to Artie.

Unfortunately for Mr. Abrams, after dinner, Artie rolled towards the front of the room where a dance floor had been set up. For Bernadette and Howard's first dance as a married couple, Artie played bass guitar with the jazz band they'd hired as the two spun around the floor, Bernadette's dress sparkling in the colored spotlights shining on the dance floor. Penny smiled proudly, leaning in subtly to Leonard's shoulder, earning her a glare from Priya.

Mr. Abrams watched with a mix of pride and confusion as Artie strummed gently at the strings for his brother's first dance with his wife. He was even more surprised when Artie didn't move afterwards, and instead waited for Howard to take a seat at the piano next to him. Bernadette was watching him curiously as Howard exchanged a few whispers with Artie. "So, Bernadette," Howard said, leaning in to the microphone. "It was kind of last minute, but Artie and I wanted to do something special together before he went back to Ohio. So…this one's for you."

Artie smiled and nodded and smiled over at Bernadette, who looked surprised at the sudden serenade. It wasn't the first time Howard had sung to her, but this time was special for him as well, and it made her heart swell.

Howard began playing the piano lightly, the melody bright and beautiful and uplifting. The jazz band played soft chords behind his playing. He sent a bright smile Bernadette's way before Artie began singing,

"_Let there be you,  
>Let there be me,<br>Let there be oysters  
>Under the sea."<em>

He looked Howard's direction to pass off the singing. Howard picked up the next verse with a bright smile on his face. Bernadette beamed as she listened to him sing.

"_Let there be wind,  
>An occasional rain,<br>chili con carne  
>sparkling champagne."<em>

Howard was choking up on the last line as Bernadette's eyes became watery and proud under the lights. Artie happily took the next verse for his older brother.

"_Let there be birds  
>to sing in the trees,<br>Someone to bless me  
>when I sneeze."<em>

Howard took a deep breath and calmed himself down as he took the next verse. On the floor behind Bernadette stood several couples, all dancing slowly in the background, including Leonard and Penny (which from the look on both Raj and Priya's faces, was probably not a good thing).

"_Let there be cuckoos,  
>a lark and a dove<br>But most of all, please,  
>let there be love."<em>

Bernadette beamed and Howard broke into a piano solo, his body moving with the music as the jazz band played smooth chords behind him. Artie took the bass line for a walk and his eyes met Howard's as they improvised the best solo either had ever played. Howard's fingers darted up and down the piano as he hummed a few _mmmm's_ and _ooooh's_ along with the solo. Bernadette danced a little bit on her own, her eyes watching Howard proudly as he sang to her. He and Artie exchanged glances before Howard ended the song, Artie accompanying with soft harmonies.

"_Let there be cuckoos,  
>a lark and a dove<br>But most of all, please,  
>let there be love."<em>

Howard ended the song with a light melody on the top notes of the piano before the jazz band ended the song. Howard turned to Bernadette, a bright smile on his face, and the two of them met for a quick kiss. Artie smiled and gave Howard the thumbs up before setting the guitar down so the original player in the jazz band could have his spot back.

Artie wheeled back over to his father, just to find his mother approaching from the side. He frowned but decided to give her another chance. "Did you boys just learn that song?" she asked, her accent still strange and unfamiliar to Artie's ears.

"Yeah," Artie nodded. "I mentioned I was in glee club and he asked if I wanted to sing a song with him."

"It was nice," she admitted. "Howard has thought he was a rock star ever since he got those piano lessons when he was a little boy."

"He's good," Artie admitted.

"So are you," she said.

Artie looked up at her, surprised. "I know Howard told you about me," Mrs. Wolowitz said. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to go see you in Ohio."

Artie just shrugged. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to tell her. It made sense that she didn't travel much because of her strange fear, but it still hurt that she hadn't even called. "I tried to visit when you and your mom were in that accident," she told him. "Howard was in his first year of college and I could have gone to visit him, but the airplane scared the hell out of me."

"I understand," Artie told her.

Her expression had softened and she looked a lot nicer, even though her gray hair and wrinkles made her look like some crazy cat lady that should have been terrifying. Instead, she just seemed more normal, and not so heartless. "Why did you let me go?" he asked without thinking.

She looked upset and didn't answer at first. "Your dad and I weren't getting along and Howard and I were close. It was best for everyone at the time," she shrugged. "I've missed you, though, Artie."

Artie nodded, "I'm glad I got to finally meet you."

"You too, kid," she told him, a small smile on her lips. "You look more like Howard than I remember."

Artie wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but he smiled all the same and thanked her. Before long they were all over at her table, Artie and his birth parents, talking and catching up and enjoying each other's company before the Abrams left for Ohio.

"Hey guys," Howard said, approaching them nervously. "Sorry to interrupt, but Bernadette suggested the four of us get a picture together."

"Your first family picture," Bernadette said with a smile.

Mr. Abrams nodded and agreed, and the four of them were ushered into the well-lit lobby to take a photo before Artie and Mr. Abrams prepared to go up to their room. "Thank you guys for coming," Howard told them as they said goodbye. "It was really good to see you again, dad, and Artie…it was awesome meeting you."

"You too," Artie replied.

Howard leaned down to pull Artie into a hug. "Look me up if you're ever in California, got it?" Howard said to Artie as he stepped away.

Artie nodded and Mr. Abrams said, "If you ever want to visit Ohio, just let us know."

"I might have to," Howard nodded. "That glee club thing sounds pretty interesting."

"Keep in touch, Artie," Mrs. Wolowitz said fondly, squeezing Artie's shoulder gently since she couldn't lean over to hug him.

"I will," he promised.

It was a promise he intended to keep, too. Sure, she was crazy Jewish and was a little overbearing, but Rhoda Wolowitz was still Artie's mom, and he was just grateful that he'd gotten to meet her. Surely sending letters or calling her every so often wouldn't hurt. They exchanged phone numbers and said their goodbyes before Howard went back in to the reception and Artie and his dad made their way up to their hotel room.

"So, are you better now?" Mr. Abrams asked as they got ready for bed.

"Yeah," Artie nodded.

He was pretty overwhelmed and his mind was reeling but it was nice knowing who is family was, and it was good to know that they didn't hate him for the wheelchair. Instead they just embraced him as part of their family and didn't ask any questions. It was just like in the glee club where people just accepted him or who he was. Artie felt relieved and at peace with the situation. "Why didn't mom like Rhoda?" Artie asked.

It made no sense that his step-mom didn't like Mrs. Wolowitz. She was a nice lady. "She kept meddling in everything," Mr. Abrams said. "Your mom is a nice lady but at times she thinks everyone's business should be her business. Even though she gave custody of you to me, she still felt like she needed to give approval to whomever I decided to date and have around you. She drove Julie nuts," he laughed at the memory. "I can kind of see why, I guess."

"They both seem really nice," Artie admitted, still not fully understanding the conflict.

"I don't know how to explain it," his father said. "They're nice women when they're not around each other, but boy do they ever clash when they're in the same room together."

He shook his head and cringed at the memories coming back to him. Artie couldn't help but laugh at it all. They finished getting ready in silence, and both fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

Their flight for Ohio left ridiculously early in the morning and Artie slept most of the way, but true to his word, he went over to Mike's when they got back, even if he just wanted to go to bed. "How did it go after you called me?" Mike asked as soon as they were in the entertainment room. He hadn't even bothered to get out the video games.

"It was good," Artie smiled. "Howard and I sang a song to his wife, and then after that I talked to my birth mom and she was actually nice."

He explained her anxiety disorder and how it kept her from visiting him all those years. Artie raved about his brother and his friends and how nice his mom was after she got used to the building they were in for the reception. "So you think you're going to go visit again?" Mike asked.

"I don't know," Artie shrugged. "They kind of got me considering CalTech if I go into stuff like that after high school, but that school is really intimidating. I might visit though, who knows. I liked California."

Mike smirked and said, "You should bring Brittany next time you go."

Confused, Artie asked, "Why?"

"She's convinced that's where Lord Tubbington disappeared to," Mike shrugged. "She's been calling Tina all week asking why he's always favored you. She also thinks Tina is a cat whisperer for some reason."

"Well, she's going to date Santana, so…"

"If I were you, I'd give her a call," Mike suggested, like he knew something Artie didn't but he wasn't going to tell.

Artie was instantly filled with hope. It helped that he kept flashing back to Penny's advice at the end of the wedding reception when she was leaving, her arm entwined with Leonard's:

"_The nerd always gets the pretty girl in the end. He deserves it."_


End file.
